The Week's Top Stories is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street. 

RUN, BULLS, RUN 

The S&P 500 has officially exited its longest bear market run since the 1940s. The index charged into bull territory on the back of major gains in tech, in particular chipmakers such as Nvidia. Enthusiasm around artificial intelligence is partly behind the shift in sentiment, as well as a general uptick in investor optimism as inflation continues to slow and the U.S. economy, so far, manages to avoid a long-anticipated recession.  

FED WATCH

Despite the good feeling on Wall Street, investors are bracing themselves for next week's Federal Reserve meeting. While it's widely believed that the central bank is nearing the end of its aggressive rate hiking cycle, the chance of another interest rate increase has markets on edge. There have been few hints from Fed officials lately, as they have been quiet as part of their usual media blackout period prior to FOMC meetings. 

CARVANA ACCELERATES

Shares of Carvana skyrockeed more than 50 percent on Thursday amid a devastating short squeeze that was initiated after the struggling car retailer forecast positive adjusted earnings in the second quarter.  "Our record-breaking 2023 first quarter is evidence that our strategy is working, and our updated Q2 2023 outlook demonstrates that our progress continues to positively impact the business even faster than expected," CEO Ernie Garcia said in a statement. The rally comes as the stock tries to recover from being wiped out in 2022, when it fell 98 percent.  

TESLA RALLIES

Tesla’s stock is up about 12 percent this week, putting the carmaker on track to match its longest winning streak ever. The boost came after General Motors announced that it's struck a deal with Tesla to start installing its charging ports beginning in 2025. Many are hopeful that the deal marks a turning point for legacy automakers, and that others could soon adopt Tesla's charging technology as well. 

APPLE DOWNGRADE

Apple's stock got a downgrade this week, despite a much-hyped developer conference that unveiled its first major product release since 2014. The long-awaited "mixed reality headset," however, didn't generate the same level of excitement as previous big product announcements such as the iPhone. It's also unclear when exactly the headset will hit markets, with Apple saying it might need more time to develop features for it.

Share:
More In Business
Is U.S. Restaurants’ Breakfast Boom Contributing to High Egg Prices?
It’s a chicken-and-egg problem: Restaurants are struggling with record-high U.S. egg prices, but their omelets, scrambles and huevos rancheros may be part of the problem. Breakfast is booming at U.S. eateries. First Watch, a restaurant chain that serves breakfast, brunch and lunch, nearly quadrupled its locations over the past decade to 570. Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Wendy's added more egg-filled breakfast items. In normal times, egg producers could meet the demand. But a bird flu outbreak that has forced them to slaughter their flocks is making supplies scarcer and pushing up prices. Some restaurants like Waffle House have added a surcharge to offset their costs.
Trump Administration Shutters Consumer Protection Agency
The Trump administration has ordered the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stop nearly all its work, effectively shutting down the agency that was created to protect consumers after the 2008 financial crisis and subprime mortgage-lending scandal. Russell Vought is the newly installed director of the Office of Management and Budget. Vought directed the CFPB in a Saturday night email to stop work on proposed rules, to suspend the effective dates on any rules that were finalized but not yet effective, and to stop investigative work and not begin any new investigations. The agency has been a target of conservatives since President Barack Obama created it following the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
Load More